Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-24

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

Some consumers are increasingly choosing to buy goods that are produced in their local area, rather than imported goods.

What are the reasons for this?

Is this a positive or a negative trend?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

Student answer (Band 5.5)

It is trending among consumers to buy the local goods rather than imported materials. This essay will discuss cheap price and easy access are the two prominent reasons to buy the objects in a local area. I firmly believe that it is a negative trend as it discourages relationships between two places while ignoring the quality of the product.

One of the pivotal reasons to buy the local brand is affordable price. The local items are usually made up of local raw materials which saves the travelling cost to the producer and hence reduces the price of an item. Furthermore, due to local production, all the goods are accessible and available that motivates them to buy the local products. It also leads to save both time and money, because once foreign goods is out of stock, it takes time to restock and is more likely entitled to rise in price. As a result, the cheap quality and prices encourage local residents to use such product

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 250 words, reaching only 165 words. Consequently, the development of ideas is severely restricted. While you identify reasons for buying local goods (price and accessibility) and state a position, the arguments are underdeveloped and lack sufficient supporting evidence or examples. The prompt asks for both reasons and an opinion on whether the trend is positive or negative; however, the brevity prevents a full exploration of these points. To improve, you must expand each body paragraph with detailed explanations and concrete examples to meet the length requirement and demonstrate a more thorough engagement with the task.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay shows a basic level of organization with an introduction and a body paragraph. You use some cohesive devices such as 'Furthermore' and 'As a result' to link ideas. However, the progression is limited by the short length of the text. Paragraphing is present, but the overall structure feels incomplete. To achieve a higher band, ensure that each paragraph has a clear topic sentence and that ideas are linked more fluidly throughout the entire essay, rather than just within a single paragraph.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally functional but lacks the range and precision required for higher bands. You use some relevant terms like 'raw materials' and 'accessible', but there are instances of awkward phrasing, such as 'cheap quality and prices' and 'entitled to rise in price'. The range is limited by the short length of the response. To improve, try to incorporate more sophisticated collocations and topic-specific vocabulary related to economics and consumer behavior, while ensuring that words are used in their correct context.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

There is a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but the accuracy is inconsistent. You have errors in article usage ('the local goods', 'the cheap quality') and subject-verb agreement ('foreign goods is out of stock'). Additionally, there are some awkward sentence constructions that slightly impede the flow of ideas. To improve, focus on mastering basic grammatical rules, such as pluralization and article usage, and practice constructing more complex sentences with accurate punctuation to demonstrate a wider range of grammatical control.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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